Foodstuffs has reported its food price inflation at its locations is lower than the official national average. 

Citing data from Stats NZ, the latest national food price inflation rate was 0.4 per cent in the year to August, whereas the Foodstuffs co-ops saw an average retail price increase of 0.1 per cent for a comparable basket of goods across their 500+ Pak’nSave, New World, and Four Square stores.

It is the sixth month in a row that both rates have been less than 1 per cent, and the eighth time in the previous year that the Foodstuffs rate has been lower than Stats NZ’s national average.

According to Foodstuffs NZ MD Chris Quin, the commission’s report correctly stated that the “worldwide trend of food price increases shows external international factors have the potential to have a much more significant impact on food pricing than the level of competition in the New Zealand grocery industry”.

“As we’ve reiterated throughout our response to the global inflation crisis, which thankfully now seems to be contained, the prices New Zealanders pay for food are largely determined by global factors,” said Quin.

“Much of the food we stock is imported, so our shelf prices are pushed up by the costs of shipping it here and trucking it around the country. Likewise, prices for domestically produced food are impacted by global commodity prices, such as those for fertiliser, and what the world is willing to pay for New Zealand dairy, meat and fruit.

In addition, Quin said Foodstuffs has provided a low-cost supermarket choice for budget-conscious shoppers with 58 Pak’nSave stores, providing strong competition to 31 towns and cities around New Zealand.